HTC Proto device renders leak, now where's that phone headed?

What you see above are pictures of the potentially forthcoming HTC Proto, a low- to mid-range device slated to be the potential successor to the HTC One V. Right off, the Proto looks to sport more of the design language found on the One X and One S, with rounded corners and black casing, dropping the "chin" off the front. Around back, you see a smooth soft-touch looking surface and Beats Audio branding. Expected specs on this device are a 4-inch 480x800 (WVGA) screen, 1GHz dual-core snapdragon processor and a 5 megapixel camera.

Speculation is that this device may see a debut at IFA 2012, but we're not so sure. Also, it's a big world out there, and it's not uncommon to see a small, regional launch of a new low-range device. Be sure to follow all of our IFA coverage closely to see what's coming from HTC and happening in all things Android.

Find three hidden rovers and landers to open special bonus levels and discover more about the NASA missions!

Rovio and NASA have been pretty cozy throughout the Space version of Angry Birds, and it's great to see the game keeping up with the latest expedition. Even if you've played the snot out of the original Angry Birds, the latest version introduces a lot of new physics gameplay that's worth checking out.

Samsung announces free apps for Galaxy Note 10.1 owners

Good news for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 early adopters -- Sammy’s announced that it’s teamed up with a number of high-profile developers to bring free apps to its new stylus-toting ICS tablet. In addition to Adobe Photoshop touch, which is bundled on the tablet, Samsung’s offering Note 10.1 owners, there’s rhythm creation app Drop the Beat, Spot the Difference and Where Is It? for the kids, and Need for Speed and Sonic 4.

The full list is fairly exhaustive, and spans both the Google Play Store and Samsung’s own app store, so check it out after the break. All apps, Samsung says, have been optimized for use with the Note 10.1's Wacom-based S Pen.

Flickr for Android overhauled with new UI and new features

It's been a really long time since Flickr for Android was updated with any sort of significance. Yahoo has finally managed to find the time to give the Android version some love though, and overall, it's looking pretty spiffy. A new UI is in effect and new features have been added that actually make the app worthwhile. Here's what's new --

Edit details on your existing photos

Choose any camera installed on your device to take a photo

Improved Search

See HTML content in comments and descriptions

Pull down to refresh content on a screen

Swiping between photos and sections works rather smoothly. If you're a hardcore photo nerd, you'll find editing metadata on the go is easy and pretty intuitive as well. Finally, the integrated sharing is there in such a way that makes sense. If you're still rocking that Flickr account, give it a go and let us what you think of it.

Pandora update brings new UI

Pandora has just released a much-welcomed update to its popular music app in the Google Play Store today. The update brings a completely refreshed and refined UI experience, that thankfully now follows Android 4.x guidelines, getting rid of the menu button and adding an overflow button on the right side of the top action bar. Behind the scenes, this update also adds the ability to review, rate and bookmark tracks in your song history and gives you access to full song lyrics and artist biographies.

Visually, the app looks great -- especially when considering how it looked before. Everything is smooth and works properly. As we noted, the legacy menu button is gone and replaced with a proper Android 4.x overflow button. There are several nice touches in the smoothness of the app when moving between windows and a very subtle feature that uses a sliver of the bottom of the app to show the track progress. Pandora has also done something slick with the volume control. Instead of simply overlaying the phone's volume slider, they take control of it and put their own slider at the bottom of the app even when using the hardware volume keys. It auto-shows and auto-hides when you're done switching. We're quite impressed with the progress Pandora has made here, and we hope more app developers can take note.

Check out a few screenshots of the refreshed UI after the break, then hit the Play Store link above to install it on your own device.

Buffer review - the antidote for oversharers

In a nutshell, Buffer helps social media fans from oversharing by allowing you to schedule when items are published to your networks, be it a Facebook profile or page, Twitter feed, or LinkedIn account. There’s even App.net support. Users can add items to their Buffer from a bunch of different mobile apps, and if you’re in a the social media business, there’s a premium version that allows teams to cooperatively fill the queue.

T-Mobile announces the no-contract Concord with Android 2.3 for $99

Want some Android on T-Mobile without the hassle of a two-year contract, a current operating system or 4G data? Then the T-Mobile Concord's your new choice. It'll run you $99.99, sports Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 3.5-inch display and has a 2-megapixel camera.

Android 4.0 finally hits European Motorola RAZR and RAZR MAXX

After what seems like an eternity, Motorola RAZR and RAZR MAXX owners in Europe are finally receiving their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OTA. Following a successful soak test, the build being pushed out is version 672.180.41. The download weighs a whopping 375.8MB, so you'll probably want to leave this one to Wifi rather than HSPA. As both RAZR and MAXX run the same firmware, the update file is also identical

Once the update is applied, RAZR owners can look forward to a redesigned UI based upon the Android 4.x design language, as well as new lock screen enhancements and much improved performance. We tore down the RAZR ICS firmware when it first landed on Verizon's version, the Droid RAZR, in June, so check out our hands-on article for more info on what's changed.

Anyone seeing ICS on their GSM RAZR this afternoon? Hit the comments and let us know.

SAS: Zombie Assault 3 - familiar-feeling multiplayer zombie defense

Those of you peeved that you can’t play Call of Duty: Zombies because it’s limited to Xperia phones until September 1 may want to check out SAS: Zombie Assault 3. It offers online multiplayer wave defense with lots of guns and perks.

SAS: Zombie Assault 3 uses a dual-joystick layout that works well enough given the game’s format. It can be tricky being precise without any guides in place. Zombies come in waves, and your sole goal is to stay alive long enough to mow them all down. As you might expect, the undead can hurt you pretty badly if they get close, so your job is to keep moving, keep shooting, and try not to work yourself into a corner where you’ll inevitably become surrounded.

The winner: Whose Lloyd fan art submission has won them a Galaxy Note 10.1?

After a couple of agonizing days going through the submissions in the Lloyd Fan Art contest, we have finally arrived at a decision. The winner of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is Android Central member roberttk1967 with his awesome digital creation above. Read what he has to say about this cool bit of art below, as well as check out a variation of the design and a peek behind the scenes!

Seidio Active Extended case review - protection with a kick(stand)

The Seidio Active Extended case is a more subdued version of its big brother, the Combo Extended case. You still have room for a larger battery in the back, but there’s one less layer of hard plastic to deal with. The big difference here is the metal kickstand with magnetic clip. This can make your Android device the perfect desktop clock, or a bedside companion for watching videos.

SIM-free Galaxy Nexus gets a price drop in the UK

There maybe rumors on the horizon of a new Galaxy Nexus, but in the meantime you may want to pick yourself up a bargain from Expansys. They have dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 16GB (sim free) to £299.99. That's not quite as reasonable as the US price of $350, but it's still pretty cheap by UK standards.

Without wanting to sound biased, you can do a lot worse than this device. Its specs may not be on par with the HTC One X or Samsung Galaxy S3, but it has a lot going for it. The big advantage for Android lovers is the fact that it supports Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. In addition, you will get yourself a 4.65 Super AMOLED display, a 5MP camera with LED flash & full HD video at 1080p. A familiar spec list by now. The Gnex's hardware is more than capable of handling Jelly Bean, and the whole experience is smooth and fluid. Why not treat yourself?

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IFA 2012 preview - Galaxy Note 2, Xperia TX and more!

Next week we’ll see a wealth of new Android devices announced in Germany in the run up to IFA 2012. For the uninitiated, IFA is an annual consumer electronics show held in Berlin, which often serves as a launching platform for smartphone and tablet manufacturers -- think of it as a mini-Mobile World Congress. Last year’s IFA hosted the launch of the original Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab 7.7, as well as the Xperia Arc S from Sony and two new Windows phones from HTC. This year’s event officially runs from Aug. 31 to Sep. 5, but many of larger announcements will be made in the couple of days before IFA officially kicks off.

IFA 2012’s most significant Android announcements are expected to come from Samsung, which is preparing to take the wraps off its Galaxy Note 2. But we’re also anticipating new smartphones and tablets from Sony and others.

Android Central will be on the ground in Berlin from early next week, but in the meantime, we’ve cooked up a definitive guide to exactly what we’re expecting to see at this year’s IFA. Read on to learn more.

Optimus Vu could come to Verizon as LG Intuition

We already know a Verizon-branded 4G LTE Optimus Vu is on the way, and now a leaked internal screen suggests the device will go to market as the "LG Intuition." The image above, obtained by Droid-Life​, suggests an on-contract price of $199.99 for the LG's 5-inch square slab, or $549.99 if you were to buy one outright.

So far the specs of the "Intuition" are something of a mystery. We think it's unlikely that Verizon will stick with the Snapdragon S3 that comes in the Korean and Japanese Optimus Vu, but equally they can't use the Tegra 3 chip found in the European version, as that doesn't have built-in LTE support. Perhaps a bump up to Snapdragon S4 could be on the cards? We certainly hope so, as the Vu will need all the help it can get to go up against Samsung's soon-to-be-announced Galaxy Note 2.